Chapter Sixty-Six: The Festival of the Goddess of Life (Bonus Chapter for Reaching 2,500 Cumulative Recommendation Votes)

Paimon's eyes turned blood-red, and the violent aura radiating from its body made it almost uncontrollable.

Fortunately, Chu Yun appeared just in time and stuffed its favorite berry into its mouth. With the added effect of their contract, Paimon's emotions finally stabilized a little.

Dragon souls were a wondrous thing. When dragonkin absorbed a dragon soul, they could become stronger; in a sense, earth dragons were also a kind of dragonkin.

Ordinary dragonkin were descendants of humans and dragons, while earth dragons were hybrids of dragons and some unknown creatures.

For dragonkin, absorbing a dragon soul required a special ritual and various tools, but Chu Yun didn't need such trouble—he could achieve a rough absorption simply by utilizing the effects of the Mirror World.

Yet precisely because this method was so crude, it was excruciating for Paimon.

"It hurts... Master, save Paimon..." Paimon sent out a pained plea for help. Feeling its suffering, Chu Yun couldn't help but regret his decision.

Fortunately, Paimon didn't seem to be in any mortal danger, so Chu Yun began chanting a healing incantation to ease its pain.

With the healing spell in effect, Paimon finally felt a little better, but as soon as the spell ended, the wailing began anew.

Chu Yun glanced at his own reserves of spiritual power—there was still plenty left—so he continued casting the healing incantation.

After enduring the initial torment, Paimon's body began to change bit by bit.

Its scales started to fall off, only to be replaced by new ones. The originally emerald scales of the wind dragon bloodline now had a faint red tinge. Paimon's physique grew sturdier, but compared to these outward changes, something even more astounding seemed to be happening inside.

White smoke began wafting from Paimon's mouth.

"Cough, cough!"

After a fit of coughing, a small flame was spat out.

...

Once the internal transformation was complete, Paimon's suffering eased. But by then, the commotion had drawn the attention of the patrol. Chu Yun halted his healing incantation, led Paimon to a safe place, and checked on its condition once more.

What he saw startled him.

Paimon Lv8

Race: Earth Dragon (Wind-Fire, Female)
Bloodline: Lizard 41.54%, Dragon 22.53%, Bird 10.82%, ...
Attributes: HP 100, Physical Attack 15, Defense 12, Magical Attack 7, Magical Defense 8, Speed 26
Affinity: 85 points ❤♥♥♥
Abilities: Bite Lv8, Carry Lv4, Haul Lv5, Burrow Lv8, Draconic Tongue Lv2
Skills: Flame Jet 1, Wind Blade 1, Swift Step 1, Savage Charge 1, Tough Hide 1

Not only had Paimon's level increased, her bloodline had become purer as well. She now possessed the new skills of Flame Jet and Draconic Tongue, and all her attributes had improved to varying degrees.

The greatest improvement was, of course, her affinity. For earth dragons, aside from reproduction, their greatest desire was to become stronger—to evolve into a true dragon.

Chu Yun had given her hope, and proven with his actions that he could make it happen.

Paimon affectionately nuzzled against Chu Yun. Had she not still been a bit weak, she would have gladly carried him around Blackstone City a dozen times out of sheer joy.

"Draconic Tongue? Paimon, you've learned the Draconic Tongue now?" Chu Yun was most concerned about this new ability.

The Draconic Tongue was one of the oldest languages in the world, serving not only as the language of dragons but also as the foundation of powerful spells—the runes of draconic magic.

"Yes, Master! Paimon has gotten much stronger!" Paimon replied cheerfully.

"Excellent. When you have time, teach me as well—I'm quite interested in the Draconic Tongue." Chu Yun patted Paimon's head.

As night deepened, the master and companion returned to the Mage Inn to rest.

-----------------

The next morning, the Blackstone Daily devoted its headlines to the incident at the auction involving the mages.

The front page, of course, featured the president of the Mage Guild single-handedly slaying the evil dragon, with Hager relegated to the background, merely a supporting figure. The Mage Guild's prestige soared once more.

Far more young people than usual flocked to spend a fortune testing their qualifications as mage apprentices. If not for the impending Goddess Festival at noon, there might have been even more.

The newspaper gave a detailed account of the event and also reported extensively on the auction itself. Chu Yun, as the seller of one of the final auction pieces, became known to many—a new figure had arrived in Blackstone City. The paper even investigated the origins of the Thunderwater Ray and gave high praise to Chu Yun for saving the merchant caravan.

Chu Yun was quite pleased by this. He was a practical man, after all—strength, wealth, fame, status, and even women were all things he pursued. Increasing his renown would help him integrate into society and, directly or indirectly, secure greater convenience for himself in the future.

The newspaper also featured an in-depth explanation of the Dragon Cult. It was reported that the Kingdom of Ailnor had already lodged a protest with the Northern Moon Kingdom. However, the king of Northern Moon was too arrogant to respond.

After all, in this era, the Dragon Cult was no longer a state religion—oppressed by the churches of the gods under the Pantheon, it had become an underground organization. The Northern Moon Kingdom had no obligation to intervene.

The biggest mystery of the battle was the lightning bolt that had struck at the critical moment. Lightning emerging from the ground was baffling enough, but the way it so perfectly used the dragon's claw to kill the Dragon Soul Priest was simply astonishing.

Everyone assumed it was the work of some reclusive master who had intervened from the shadows—no one suspected Chu Yun, a mere second-tier mage.

There had been other mages among the onlookers, but none had detected any trace of spellcasting from within the crowd.

In the end, Blackstone City gave the credit to Hager, officially explaining that it was a magical device he had thrown in the heat of battle. Hager thus managed to redeem himself and wasn't punished too severely for his actions—after all, the Goddess Festival would need him to keep working, and without him, no one could shoulder the responsibility of organizing the celebration.

In truth, there were a few other fourth-tier powerhouses in Blackstone City, but they were either major figures like the president of the Mage Guild, great nobles, or ascetics. Only Hager, by virtue of his position, could lead effectively.

That day, Chu Yun awoke full of energy as usual. Ever since he had replaced sleep with meditation, he loved rising early each day.

He went to the stables to check on Paimon. As expected of an earth dragon with over 20% dragon blood, after a night of rest and plenty of berries and meat, Paimon looked like a completely different creature from the day before.

"Chu Yun, are you going to the festival today as well?" A familiar voice sounded behind him.

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't miss such an important event."

Today, Anna had dressed with particular formality in a proper mage's robe. Although it hid the figure that excited half the men in Blackstone City, it gave her the mysterious allure unique to mages.

Though Anna didn't seem to have much standing within the Mage Guild, she was well-known in Blackstone City as a beautiful young mage and the object of many men's dreams.

Born in the slums, Anna was warm and approachable. She often returned to help those truly in need, which was one reason she was perpetually short of money.

Anna approached Chu Yun, a touch of curiosity in her gaze as she looked at Paimon. "Chu Yun, did your mount get taller? And its scales look a bit different too?"

"Ah, the previous one was disobedient, so I sold it and bought a stronger one," Chu Yun answered with a smile.

Paimon, by his side, adopted a wounded expression—after all, she had always been obedient.